Articulation Through Florida Advanced Technological Education Center

articulation agreement based on industry certification,
which was approved by the Florida Department of Education (FL DOE) in March
2007. FLATE, working with the FL DOE Career and Technical Education team,
Florida colleges, and Florida industries defined the new A.S. degree program in
Engineering Technology (ET) with 10 specialization tracts and 18 technical
college certificates. The program offers a variety of technical specializations
built upon a common technical core that supports a wide range of manufacturing
and high technology industries. The program has been adopted by 14 of Florida’s
28 state and community colleges.

To ensure
the success of this unified curriculum plan, FLATE, in partnership with the FL DOE,
also developed a new curriculum framework for secondary and PSAV programs that
aligns with the MSSC Certified Production Technician (CPT) certification. The
Automated Production Technician (APT) framework was approved in January 2009,
and is available for implementation by Florida high school programs, career academies,
and technical schools. The APT (with embedded MSSC) program provides a
particularly potent pathway for secondary technical students as it articulates
15 credit hours towards the ET college course of study for student completers.
This pathway gives secondary students a jump start on their college education
while preparing them with industry articulated skills set they need for good
paying jobs.

In
support of secondary programs, FLATE provides free online, industry-connected
resources focused on the often overlooked technology and engineering side of
STEM. Complete lesson plans, career education resources, learning objects, and
more are located in a special wiki site for educators and can be accessed at http://flate.pbworks.com. The wiki is accessed
through FLATE’s signature Made in Florida website: www.madeinflorida.org.

For adult
learners, the same program provides a pathway for incumbent workers to gain the
15 college credit hours by experience through certification. Veterans in the
program have shared that the program is a good match for many of the hands-on
skills learned through military service. The ET program allows “stacking” of
credentials and experience, leading to enhanced career potential with Florida
advanced manufacturers and related high-tech industries throughout the state.

The road
does not end here! Engineering Technology A.S. degree holders can transfer
seamlessly to a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Technology (B.S.E.T.), or to
a number of Bachelor of Applied Science (B.A.S.) Degrees offered in Florida’s
universities and colleges. The 2 + 2 agreements apply the 60 credit hours of an
A.S. Degree directly to the 4-year bachelor’s degree (additional general
education credits or technical prerequisite courses may be required). For more
information on the award-winning, state A.S. E.T degree visit www.madeinflorida.org,
or email Dr. Marilyn Barger, executive director of FLATE at barger@fl-ate.org.

NOCTI Book

If you are new to CTE administration or considering moving into that arena, you might want to check out this new resource published by ACTE and written by NOCTI. There are lots of hot tips, check lists and and case studies / notes from the field including our experiences here at FLATE working with our industry partners through advisory committees or boards. (You can find FLATE on page 56!). You don’t have to re-invent the wheel.

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Disclaimer

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation, under the following grant DUE# 1204751. "Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation."